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Politics

YES on Amendment 2, a Small Way to Reward Elderly Veterans Who Sacrificed for Our Country

September 19, 2012 - 6:00pm

Florida has a history of providing property tax relief to veterans, disabled persons and the elderly.

There are currently a number of property tax exemptions for military veterans.One of these -- a constitutional amendment passed by the voters in 2006 -- provides a property tax discount for partially or totally permanently disabled veterans who are 65 or older and who were Florida residents at the time of entering military service. The disability must be combat-related and the veteran must have been honorably discharged.The percentage of the discount is equal to the percentage of the veteran's disability.

Amendment 2 would expand the qualifications for that discount by removing the requirement that the veterans must have been a Florida resident at the time of entering the service. All qualifying veterans who moved to Florida after that would now be granted the discount.

Even prior to the 2006 amendment, Florida law provided for a total property tax exemption for totally disabled veterans. Under that law, totally disabled veterans do not have to live in Florida when they entered the service, but only on Jan. 1 of the tax year for which the exemption is claimed.Amendment 2 would treat partially disabled veterans the same way.

In 2010, 1,206 veterans received the current discount provided under the 2006 amendment, saving an average of $458, a statewide impact of $553,000 (based on the average statewide millage rate).Amendment 2 would expand this amendment. The Florida Department of Veteran Affairs reports that as many as 74,000 veterans could qualify for the new discount. The state estimates that -- assuming current millage rates -- this discount would be worth $2.4 million the first year (fiscal year 2013-14) and $7.6 million annually after that.

As is always the case with property tax exemption estimates, this does not mean that local governments will lose $7.6 million annually. When tax rolls are rising, as they are beginning to do again, local governments can easily recoup such reductions in taxable value. To put it in context, total property tax collections in Florida in fiscal year 2011-12 were $24.5 billion. Even without raising millage rates, this exemption is worth less than 1 percent of the more than $800 million in property tax growth revenues forecast for fiscal year 2013-14.

Generally, exemptions for narrow taxpayer populations should not be in the Constitution.However, because so much of Floridas property tax system is regulated by the Constitution, making this change requires an amendment. Amendment 2 is a small way to reward those who sacrificed while serving our country and the impact on other taxpayers would be minimal. It would provide increased fairness by making the residency requirements for totally and partially disabled veterans equal, and it clears up what could be a conflict between the Constitution and the statutes.All Florida residents who meet the other requirements will qualify for the exemption. Florida TaxWatch supports Amendment 2.

Dominic M. Calabro is president and CEO of Florida TaxWatchin Tallahassee.

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